MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1240, 22 January 1914, Page 31

MOTORING & CYCLING

A Carterton motor cyclist travelled from that township to Wanganui on a gallon and a-half of petrol, which he believes to be something of a record.

During last year 334 motor vehicles —133 cars and 201 cycles—were registered in Palmeiston North. Altogether 794 motors —2 87 cars and 507 cycles—have been registered in the borough.

The Waikato Automobile Association has appointed Mr. A. J. Smith secretary, in place of Mr. Mackley, who recently resigned owing to pressure of other work.

A peculiar form of accident is reported from Otago. A motor car with four passengers and a driver met a dairy cart outside Dunedin, and the sight so upset the nerves of the horse that it leapt clean out of the harness and bolted, leaving the cart and two small boys with several milk cans scattered on the road.

The Aitutaki Council (Cook Islands) has decided that a tax of £'so shall be imposed on motor cars. In October two m»)tor cars arrived by the Talune, and plied for hire for four weeks, and the result was that £lOOO was taken away by the owners (halfcastes) from Tahiti.

At the recent gathering of the Maori clans at Otaki a feature of the proceedings was the large number of motor cars and motor cycles present. To judge Wy outward appearances, it would appear that the motor has come to be regarded as an essential in the eyes of the Natives.

The motorists of Waimate South held their first gymkhana at which there was a large attendance. Cars came from as far apart as Christchurch, Dunedin, Oamaru, Timaru and Invercargill. The sports were well attended, and much amusement was caused by the various events. It is -intended to make it an annual fixture.

A local motorist in a 12 h.p. Cadillac car put up a good performance by leaving Whangarei at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day and arriving at Waihou on the Hokianga before 1 p.m. On the whole the roads were very fair, excepting at Waiotu, where fascining work had to be done to enable the car to proceed on its journey, and also a boulder road in Whakapana, which the motorislt declar/edf must have been made specially to prevent cars from running into Whakapara. He further advises the inclusion of an axe and a spade amongst the gear necessary when such a trip is to be undertaken. ,

Two well-known Wanganui residents put up something like a record for the motor cycle and side-car on New Year’s Day and the following day. They journeyed to Napier and back a distance of about 360 miles. They left early on Thursday morning, and were back the following night.

An unusual incident occurred in one of the main streets of Dannevirke, when a motor car, locally owned, while travelling along the street precipitated a stone about a pound in weight through a 54-inch plate-glass window. The distance from the road where the stone lay to the window was atfout 30 feet, and the missile must have risen about two feet in its flight.

The immense 95 h.p. Thomas Flyer car, weighing 2% tons, which Mr. McKenzie, a retired banker of New York, and party, are driving throughout New Zealand,, met with a slight mishap outside Timaru. One of the tyres sustained injuries, and, as ali the spare ones were used, it was thought that it might be impossible to replace the damage for some time, as the tyres are of an exceptional size, but Messrs. Adams, Ltd., through their Wellington branch, had a tyre the desired size sent to the marooned

party, and the tourists were enabled to proceed to the fishing grounds of Temuka and Rangitaita,. where Mr. McKenzie tried his skill with rod and reel.

Motor cars are destroying, says a returned Oamaruvian, what centuries of weather and traffic have left unmarked, the surface of the old Roman road from Calais to Paris. The highway that has patiently borne the tramp of legions, the tumbril’s rumble and the rattle of the coach, is giving up the ghost to the silent pneumatic tyfle. It is not alone the tyres which tear up the road, although the tenacious grip of the speeding rubber plaster loosens the gravel, but the wind which is raised by the rapid car. This dries the surface and sucks the binding dust from between the metal, letting in the ancient foundations. The long white cloud that may be seen at any hour behind the glimmer of the fleeting car is the incense

of a sacrifice, tinged —O, shade of Caesar —with an odour of petrol, to the rubber trusts.

A party of Gisbornites had an unenviable experience recently. After they left Motu they were threatened by a thunderstorm, and although they thought they could outrace the elements they were caught upon a hill read. The track became greasy and the car began to skid, so the driver decided it was not worth risking an accident and he ran the car into a suitable spot to spend the night. The ladies were taken on by a horse conveyance, and the two travellers curled themselves up to spend as comfortable a night as such unforseen circumstances permitted. By nine o’clock next morning the road had dried sufficiently to enable a fresh start to be made, and although there were some bad places, the summit ot the hill was eventually reached. Singularly enough, it was found that the

road on the down grade was almost perfectly dry, very little rain apparently having fallen in that locality. Consequently the descent was made without any trouble, and the remainder of the journey provided an enjoyable ride.

The question of the speed of motor cars upon public roads came up before a County Council in the Bay of Plenty, and some caustic comments were made upon the subject. One member spoke strongly in favour of a £lO per annum tax on cars, the proceeds to be devoted to the upkeep of the roads. The opinion was also expressed that all motor drivers should be licensed, and eventually a committee was formed to report upon the best method of speed control upon the roads of the district.

‘•I have heard a good many tales,” said Dr. W. H. Simpson, president of the Canterbury Automobile Association, at a recent meeting, “but this caps them all.” The tale which caused this remark was told by Mr. J. S. Hawkes, who said that in coming up one grass slope on the Peninsula the gradient had been so steep that the back tyres had repeatedly fired the grass. He persisted in his story, and eventually it was accepted with due apologies.

At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Automobile Association, a photo of the Horseshoe Bend on the Pigeon Bay road was on exhibition. It showed the manner in which provision had b/een made by cutting down a portion of the hill at the corner for motorists to see cars approaching from different directions. It was decided to forward a copy of the photo-’ graph to local bodies in whose district similar dangerous corners exist. Mr. P. S. McLean, of Napier, president of the New Zealand Motor Union, attended the meeting to discuss matters connected with motor insurance, and the effect of the formation of the Canterbury Provincial Motor Union upon the association’s connection with the New Zealand Union. Mr. McLean emphasised the necessity for a common understanding between motorists and motor cyclists in the matter of proposed legislation and other questions that affected the interests of both bodies.

The tireless and advertising American has struck a brilliant idea —a horseless town. Speedway, the mooted city will be officered by men con nected with the motor car trade — employers and employees in the factories that are being erected in the city. Good roads and streets, of course, have been the first consideration with the designers of Speedway, and all the streets, avenues, and squares, which are being planned in accordance with the newest principles of town planning, will be named after prominent men in the motor car industry. Every maker who places his factory within the limits of the town will find in the deeds of his property a clause that all his hauling must be done by motor lorrv. The police department will be fully equipped with motor apparatus; the inhabitant who is unfortunate enough to be arrested will be taken to the police headquarters in a motor car; the streets will be swept by motor machine, and the rubbish and refuse will be carried away by motor lorry.